A tenacious Selma Starcrew, captained by veteran sailor Jun Avecilla, bested its IRC class to recapture this year’s edition of the BPI Busuanga Cup, Palawan’s premiere yachting event.
A perennial winner of various yachting tournaments in the country, this is the fourth overall title won by the prized 36.7-foot Beneteau First sailboat.
Now on its seventh staging, the Cup is back in its championship form, the country’s largest standalone trust corporation which administers over P 850 billion in assets.
The regatta’s first leg is the 144-nautical mile Busuanga Race from Punta Fuego Yacht Club in Nasugbu, Batangas to Black Island in Busuanga, Palawan, where Selma Star placed second to team Bellatrix which took line-honors and first place with an elapsed time of 28 hours and 22 secs.
The Cup’s second leg is the Commodore Doni Altura Memorial Race composed of competitive inshore and round-island races, where Selma Star’s precision sailing lifted them to take the overall trophy.
Coming in at close second was Hurricane Hunter, a First 40 CR 2,45 boat helmed by Albert Altura, son of the celebrated yachtsman who became Manila Yacht Club commodore and Philippine Sailing Association president.
Rounding up the winning circle at third in the International Rating Certificate (IRC) class was Porcelanosa-sponsored Belatrix, skippered by Jun Villanueva. The award-winning Ice 52 yacht won the Cup’s 2020 edition and also bagged top honors in the recent Punta Fuego Regatta held this January.
In the Ocean Multihull Class, Carino helmed by Monchu Garcia took 1st Overall, followed by Poco Loco of David Sutton. Both sailboats are Leopard catamarans measuring 40 and 45 feet, respectively.
It was a close race at the Cruiser Class which was topped by Papaya 2, a Sun Odyssey 42 of veteran Hobie sailor Rene Ticzon. Winning runners-up honors were Captain Napoleon, an Oceanis 41 of Greek Capt. Napoleon Paterakis, and Neptunus III, a Janneau Voyager 12.5 based at the Puerto Galera Yacht Club and skippered by Richard McGonegal.
The race was followed by the Busuanga Rally & Safari where participants sailed to Calaiut Safari Park, and did a dugong run to swim with the marine mammal.